QUOTA OF QUOTES

Compiled & partly written by MELVIN DURAI

January 2012

“In such an insanely competitive market, to carve a niche with such modest talent is indeed fantastic, and I mean it as a compliment.”
– Theater director and filmmaker Feroz Abbas Khan, on Freida Pinto’s remarkable success in Hollywood. (BiggerIndia.com)

“Sadly, what most of the world knows today as Indian food is bastardized, trivialized — tandoori chicken, black dal, everything deep-fried. And it’s just a shame that many Americans will only experience it in some buffet line in New Jersey.”
– Rahul Akerkar, a Mumbai chef and restaurant owner. (Wall Street Journal)

“I did not want to create a chain ... but then I got greedy.”
– Riyaaz Amlani, 36, joking about his 19 Mocha coffee shops in India. He opened the first one in South Bombay a decade ago and also owns eight other food and drink outlets. (Economic Times)

“It was only after joining the monastery that I began to understand the prison of Wall Street. I didn’t hate those people but I began to understand what drives them and how much shallowness and suffering is there inside.”
– Rasanath Das, who gave up his job as a New York investment banker to become a Hindu monk. He recently offered meditation sessions to Occupy Wall Street protesters. (Reuters)

“I remember when cars were for rich people. Today, everyone in India wants to have a car: the city people, farmers, everyone.”
– Dharmendra Srivastava, 32, one of seven salesmen at the Bright4Wheel car dealership in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. (AP)